Silver Crystal

The Silver Crystal, or in Japanese, the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou (幻の銀水晶; often translated as Illusionary Silver Crystal), was an object of great power in the Sailor Moon storyline. This crystal originally belonged to Queen Serenity, who ruled the Solar System from the Moon Kingdom during the era of the Silver Millennium. By the power of the Silver Crystal, the people of the Moon were able to enjoy long, peaceful lives. The Moon Kingdom watched over the planet Earth and the Solar System in this time of peace.

With no hope for the future, Queen Serenity used the power of the Silver Crystal to seal the enemies of the Moon Kingdom. She also used it to send her daughter, the prince, and all of the Sailor Senshi to the future on Earth where they would be reborn to hopefully live peaceful lives. However, just in case the dark forces would reawaken, she also sent two feline guardians to the future to help the Sailor Senshi if need be. With the loss of the Silver Crystal, the Queen died on the remains of the Moon Kingdom.

In the anime, the Silver Crystal was split into seven Rainbow Crystals in order to seal away the Seven Great Youma, who were later reborn on Earth as humans. After the Rainbow Crystals had been collected together, a tear shed by Sailor Moon called to them, and they combined with her tear to form the Silver Crystal and reveal Sailor Moon as the Moon Princess.

Its power was depleted during the final battle against Queen Beryl, and when Queen Serenity restored Usagi's transformation brooch, creating the Crystal Star, she explained that time and Usagi's desire to protect her friends would eventually restore its true power.

In the fifth season, the Silver Crystal was revealed to be Sailor Moon's Star Seed. Unlike other characters' Star Seeds, however, it often existed completely separate from Usagi without her suffering any ill effects. In the first season after it appeared the Crystal remained attached to the Moon Stick, then in Sailor Moon R it was inside of the Crystal Star, then when the Crystal Star changed into the Cosmic Heart Compact, the Crystal was contained in that brooch. The Crisis Moon Compact and Eternal Moon Article had red crystals on the inside, but neither of them were shaped like the Silver Crystal and it was uncertain where the Crystal existed when Sailor Moon was not directly using its power. When Sailor Moon was struck by a blow from Sailor Lead Crow's bracelets, the Silver Crystal appeared above her head, just like with others who had their Star Seeds stolen, but enemies could sense power coming from Sailor Moon's brooch, as in episode 188, when Sailor Aluminum Seiren felt the Silver Crystal's power apparently coming from the Eternal Moon Article.

In the manga, as the Senshi were battling against Kunzite, he absorbed all of their attacks, then suddenly released all the stored energy at Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask jumped in and took the hit for her. The two of them began to regain their memories of their past lives, but then Tuxedo Mask died in Sailor Moon's arms. The pain was too much for her and in her anguish, the tiara on her head shattered, revealing a glowing crescent moon; in a flash, her outfit changed into that of Princess Serenity. Her memories of the Moon Kingdom returned, and she recalled that Endymion also took a fatal blow for her in the attack so long ago; they were reborn and found one another only to lose each other again. A tear fell from her cheek and became immensely bright, until it formed into the Silver Crystal. Its light healed all of those it touched, and a part of it descended into Tuxedo Mask's body. The Dark Kingdom then took him.

In the live-action series, the Crystal had a different background than in the anime or manga. Instead of belonging to Queen Serenity, the Crystal had apparently been owned by Princess Serenity even in the past. When the Dark Kingdom attacked and Endymion was killed, Princess Serenity used the Silver Crystal to wipe out the forces of the Dark Kingdom, as well as destroy all life on Earth.

In Act 25, Tuxedo Mask was mortally injured by Kunzite. As she cradled his body and wept, Sailor Moon's tiara began to emit a bright golden glow, and she changed into Princess Serenity. One of her tears paused in mid-air, shining with an intense light, and became the Silver Crystal. The light healed Tuxedo Mask and forced their enemies to retreat. However, the Crystal was never fully separated from her body.

After that, whenever Mamoru was endangered, Sailor Moon transformed into Princess Sailor Moon; this form was more powerful, but instead of having Usagi's normal personality, she was dominated by the cold and vengeful personality of Princess Serenity. Princess Sailor Moon's sole intent was to get Endymion back, and she did not shy away from anything in order to achieve her goal; indeed, she said that she would use the Silver Crystal to destroy the world again if it should come to that.

It was later revealed that using the Silver Crystal also increased the power of Queen Metalia. Since Usagi unintentionally used it every time she was upset, she was forced to struggle to suppress any negative emotion.

When Sailor Moon was forced to kill Prince Endymion after he was possessed by Queen Metalia in Act 48, it proved to be too much for her. She transformed into Princess Sailor Moon again and, even though Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter attempted to stop her, she destroyed the planet using the power of the Silver Crystal. When she realized what she had done, she released all the power of the Silver Crystal to restore everything to normal, killing herself and destroying the Crystal in the process. However, by the wish of the Sailor Senshi and the Shitennou, both Usagi and Mamoru were revived.

As in all other versions of the Sailor Moon series, the Silver Crystal played an important role in the musicals, though in most storylines it was mainly used as a catalyst, in that the villain of that particular musical either held it as a symbol of their grievance or particularly desired to possess it. Should anyone else obtain it, however, it would not have done them any good, as in Last Dracul Saishuu Shou - Chou Wakusei Death Vulcan no Fuuin Usagi actually gave away the Crystal only to have Princess Serenity reveal that it could not be used by those with impure hearts.

There was no consistency regarding where the Crystal was kept from musical to musical. Depending on the musical in question, it was contained in the Moon Stick, Crystal Star, Cosmic Heart Compact, and Spiral Heart Moon Rod, as well as inside Usagi. As in other versions of the series, though, the Silver Crystal was still Usagi's Star Seed.

Sailor Moon mainly used the Silver Crystal as a healing tool. It could, however, be used as an offensive weapon, and was used as such to destroy various villains in the story. In the manga, the Silver Crystal was a form of Sailor Moon's Sailor Crystal, and was the source of her power as a Sailor Senshi. The Silver Crystal was the most powerful Sailor Crystal in the galaxy, and was often the object of desire or loathing for the major villains of the Sailor Moon metaseries. The ability to use the Crystal's power, however, appeared to depend on the user, as it cost Princess Serenity her life more than once to do so; the times it did not, such as in the battle against Wiseman or Princess Snow Kaguya, it was because someone else had combined their powers with hers.

While Usagi was Sailor Moon the Silver Crystal evolved into a form known as the Silver Moon Crystal. Usagi gave up her ability to become a Sailor Senshi when she ascended the throne as Neo-Queen Serenity in the 30th Century in Crystal Tokyo, but passed this ability down to her daughter, Small Lady, also known as Chibiusa, who became Sailor Chibi Moon. In both the anime and the manga, Chibiusa took the Silver Crystal of the future from her mother's room, but in the Sailor Moon R season of the anime it merged into her body allowing her to emit moonbeams. It was not clear in the anime if after that season Sailor Chibi Moon had her own Crystal, unlike in the manga where the Silver Crystal in Chibiusa's transformation brooch eventually evolved and became the Pink Moon Crystal, allowing her to transform into her "eternal" form as Sailor Chibi Moon.

The word "maboroshi" in the Crystal's name is often left out of translation, or is translated in a multitude of different ways. The kanji "幻" (maboroshi) can mean "a phantom, a vision, an illusion, a dream, a phantasm."[1] It is often translated, in conjunction with the rest of the Crystal's name, as "Illusionary Silver Crystal,"[2][3] especially in sources which refer to the live-action series. However, this is not the only way the Crystal's name can be translated; some fans prefer alternatives such as "Phantom Silver Crystal,"[4] based on the fact that, in Japanese, the term for the geological phenomena of phantom crystals is approximated by the term "ファントム水晶" (fantomu suishou), and "ファントム" (fantomu) is often explained to mean "幻" (maboroshi).[4]

In the anime, starting with episode 28, the opening Usagi segment included a picture of the Silver Crystal while Usagi was talking about her new mission. This particular shot had the Silver Crystal in a diamond shape like in the manga, but when it later formally appeared, it was round.

The lotus shape of Silver Crystal could be a reference to the Hindu symbol for purity, beauty, and non-attachment. Lotus is also a symbol for the centers of consciousness (chakras) in the body.

In the English dub of the anime and the TokyoPop version of the manga, the Silver Crystal was known as the "Imperium Silver Crystal." "Imperium" is a word that can mean "absolute power," or can describe the power wielded by an empire.